Posts Tagged ‘Brooke-Burns’

There are two more episodes of Melrose Place left and before the big finale airs I thought it would be good to review what’s been working for the show. Based on upticks in page views of this blog over the past seven months, I’ve determined which stars and plotlines were hits with the viewers and am sharing the results with my followers as a top-ten list. This is all VERY unscientific and some of it seems pretty obvious (i.e., Ella’s shoes), but hey — it’s fun, so without further ado, I present the ten most popular Melrose-related search topics according to yours truly. Hopefully next year I can do a rundown of season two’s hot subjects.

#10 – Victor Webster as Caleb – The Melrose producers may not have chosen to keep Caleb around when Heather Locklear returned as Amanda, but a post I made back in January suggesting he be brought back STILL is getting hits and is one of the few posts to elicit comments from diehard Melrose fans. A missed opportunity indeed.

#9 – The Melrose Place spread in Entertainment Weekly – Melrose fans really liked the shot of the new cast featured in the Fall TV Preview issue of Entertainment Weekly. My scan of the two-page spread is one of the most popular images that leads people to Melrose Again through image searches.

#8 – TV Guide’s behind-the-scenes tour of Melrose Place – Melrose fans were very eager to have the show return after nearly three long months of reruns, so when TV Guide ran a full page of photos of the cast with commentary from gorgeous Stephanie Jacobsen (Lauren), my scan got a big welcome from Web surfers.

#7 – Is Violet Sydney’s nutcase daughter? – We now know that a biological link was the reason for the eerie similarities between the dearly departed Sydney Andrews and fellow carrot-top troublemaker Violet Foster.

#6 – Josie Bissett’s guest appearance – Jane is anything but plain judging from the hits I still get from people Googling for pictures and information about her portrayer, Josie Bissett. Maybe she should return permanently.

#5 – Melissa Ordway, Melrose’s newest bombshell – She’s only been in two episodes so far, but this sexy blonde has made a big impact with Melrose fans curious about Morgan, the new girl in town.

#4 – Jane and Ella’s fashion statements – The shot I posted of Jane and Ella in designer threads is a super popular image on this blog. Most of the searches seem to be about the killer shoes Ella tends to wear.

#3 – Vanessa is revealed as Sydney’s killer on December 8 – The Melrose producers may have thought the murder mystery was too dark for the masses, but my post about the exciting episode that solved the crime is the most popular storyline among Melrose Again visitors so far. I’ve gotten views from as far as Germany.

#2 – Katie! Katie! Katie! – It’s all about Ella, folks. Katie Cassidy is by most accounts the show’s breakout star and page views on this blog zoom whenever she or her character are the subject of a post. Like I said, obvious stuff.

#1 – My theory that Vanessa offed Sydney, posted before the December 8 episode aired, is my most popular entry so far. Although subsequent posts have garnered big view tallies, this item still gets hits from all across the world since Melrose aired later in other countries.

End game: Michael's faceoff with Vanessa (Brooke Burns) led to another watery death in the Melrose pool.

The Drowning Pool

December 8: The tide has turned on Melrose Place now that it’s been revealed that Michael’s wife Vanessa (Brooke Burns) killed Sydney (Laura Leighton). Just as I predicted in my November 24 post, last night’s episode showed how Vanessa showed up at Sydney’s and their heated confrontation erupted into a vicious catfight in which Mrs. Mancini stabbed Syd, who stumbled to the Melrose courtyard in an effort to escape only to be tossed into the pool by Vanessa. The murderous Mrs. Mancini had been playing it cool all this time, letting everyone around her take the heat for her crime. Michael had hidden Syd’s bloody necklace in his car to protect his family (more like his reputation, if you ask me), but when Vanessa visited him in jail all bets were off and the two swapped accusations and threats. Doctor Mike immediately asked David to take little Noah out of the Mancini home so Vanessa couldn’t take him out of the country. Like clockwork, the killer Amazon showed up at Melrose and confronted Violet, who was looking after Noah while David (Shaun Sipos) rescued Lauren from an accidental drug overdose (more on that later). A determined Vanessa made a fatal mistake pulling a gun on Violet to reclaim her kid since Violet (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz) knew that she had killed her mom, who as it turned out had made amends with her long-lost daughter just before her murder. The vengeful women struggled and wound up in the pool (where else?). Vanessa hit her head and bled to death while a crazed Violet held her underwater to deliver a dose of poetic justice. Amanda, of course, arrived just in time to witness the scene and provided the cops a self-defense excuse for Violet, who now owes her a favor big time.

Can David (Shaun Sipos) save Lauren's career?

Ella’s Turn

David got a call from a desperate Lauren (Stephanie Jacobsen), who had been slipped a sex-enhancing drug by one of her hunky but creepy regular johns at a hotel. When last seen, Lauren was fighting for her life at the hospital where she works as David stood by her side. I wonder how she’s going to explain the overdose to her bosses? Will David provide her an alibi? More important, will he find out that he may be Noah’s father if what we saw in Vanessa’s flashback about Sydney is true? Luckily for Laura Leighton fans, Syd’s flashback appearances are likely to continue despite the resolution of her murder mystery since she had some dirty business dealings with Amanda (Heather Locklear) involving stolen priceless artwork. Amanda is determined to find a piece worth $19 million and Violet may play a role in helping her track it down now that Syd’s dead. They could always try a séance. Amanda’s protégé Ella (Katie Cassidy), meanwhile, was having a far better day as things changed dramatically between Jonah and Riley. Jonah proposed the lovebirds elope in Vegas and Riley’s subtle lack of enthusiasm got on his nerves. Ella, who’s working overtime to get back in his good graces, set up a pitch meeting for him with a hotshot Hollywood producer who bought the concept. Ella delivered the good news just as Jonah and Riley were having a big blowout over her apparent desire to delay their impending marriage. A fed-up Jonah decided Riley can keep her reticence and rewarded Ella with a long-delayed tumble in the sack. Looks like Jonah’s life is about to get a lot more interesting. Riley meanwhile, rejected a well-muscled Auggie’s last-ditch effort to distract her from her breakup woes, sending the Augster back to the bottle. Violet, who had spotted Auggie’s lip lock with the hapless Riley, burned a painting of the hunky chef she had been laboring over. How will she and the Augster exit Melrose after the holidays? Is this really the end of Riley and Jonah? Will Ella remain faithful to Jonah? Stay tuned, Melrosers!

Sleeping with the enemy: Is Sydney's killer right under Michael's nose?

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. The November 17 episode put the idea in my head that Michael Mancini’s trophy wife Vanessa (Brooke Burns) may not be as clueless as she seems. When David (Shaun Sipos) ran into her on his way to confront Michael at their home, he told her he thought Papa Mancini offed Sydney because he had been sleeping with her, but she didn’t flinch. What gives? Vanessa has been pretty low key since the show began in September, popping up sporadically like a towering beauty pageant contestant next to Michael and not contributing much else to the story. The skimpy role seemed odd for a sexy TV actress with some recognition factor (the series Baywatch, North Shore and Pepper Dennis are on her resume). An entry on Wikipedia mentions that she is set to star in a new series called Mistresses so it stands to reason that Burns is getting a speedy exit from Melrose soon. My theory is that Vanessa knew about Michael’s indiscretions with Syd and went to the Melrose complex to confront her. Waiting in the shadows, she noticed that Syd’s apartment was a revolving door of men (such a shock!) as Michael, David and Auggie paid visits while she was flying high as a kite on drugs. After the drama with the guys passed, Vanessa finally faced off with Sydney and their catfight turned deadly with Vanessa accidentally, or purposely, stabbing Sydney with the knife that Syd had sliced Auggie with and tossing her bloody corpse in the Melrose pool. It’s no secret Vanessa isn’t fond of David so she probably planted the knife on him to make him think he did the deed during his blackout and later hid Sydney’s bloody necklace in Michael’s car to kill two birds with one stone. I suspect the good doctor’s wife had had her fill of the Mancini men!

November 17: While lovebirds Riley and Jonah celebrate the rollout of Riley’s ads for Anton V’s eco denim line, Ella and Caleb are busy planning for the big PR launch party when their meeting is interrupted by legendary ad whiz turned PR queen Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear, finally) fresh from WPK’s New York office. Amanda quickly shows how ten years away from L.A. haven’t slowed her down much as she rips into Caleb for putting in too many “man hours” on the Anton V account and promptly dismisses him, along with his “bat and balls.” Caleb tells Ella on the street that Amanda has an ulterior motive for returning to L.A. Will he pop up later with a discrimination lawsuit? When Ella tries to cozy up to her imperious new boss, she’s quickly put in her place and ordered to get Riley to spout sound bites from a fake bio jazzed up to add some rags-to-riches street cred to her privileged history. Riley balks at the prospect of lying for Amanda but relents when Ella tells her she can kiss her $10,000 fee goodbye if she doesn’t follow orders. Riley of course blows it at the big party and comes clean when a reporter from Vogue quizzes her about her supposed life of struggle and how her students must respect her. Jonah is proud of the bone-headed beauty. Amanda, however, is not amused. After Ella passes Amanda’s unusual test of a tempting job offer from a beautiful British talent agent whose idea of a job interview involves the international language of French kissing, the senior blonde commands her potential protégé to prove her Amanda-in-training potential by finking on Riley to her boss at school for using sick days to model for Anton V. Ella, who isn’t as ruthless as Queen Amanda (for now, anyway), refuses, so Amanda does the deed herself and Riley promptly loses her teaching gig. Thanksgiving will be pretty lean at the lovebirds’ nest, it seems. Nosing around Sydney’s surprisingly accessible apartment later, Amanda finds a taunting note from the ratty redhead boasting she’ll never find what she’s looking for. Syd always did love sticking it to Amanda, even in the afterlife.

Does Caleb (Victor Webster) have grounds for a discrimination lawsuit against Amanda?

If the Bloody Necklace Fits…

Auggie returns from his trip only to land in jail. David, who’s quickly emerging as Melrose’s unlikely white knight, compares notes with the Augster about the night Syd was offed and the hunky pair conclude that Auggie got caught up in a set-up meant for David, who suspects his dad Michael. After getting bailed out by David, Auggie interrupts the Melrosers lounging by the pool and gets a chilly reception even from a conflicted, but bodacious, Riley rocking a hot blue bikini. Violet, of course, is the all over the situation and keeps popping in on the Augster to lend a sympathetic naked limb or two. It isn’t until Riley’s latest rejection nearly pushes Auggie back to the bottle that Miss Violet, finding him alone, friendless, and most importantly, shirtless, hits the jackpot and distracts him with another vigorous round of boot bumping. She does wear amazing designer booties, doesn’t she? David, meanwhile, cases out Papa Mancini’s mansion and has a run-in with Michaels’ gigantic wife Vanessa (Brooke Burns). David warns the clueless Amazon that Dr. Mancini may have killed his mistress Sydney and suggests she take their kid and ditch the devious doctor. She remains strangely unresponsive. Later that night, David searches Michael’s car and finds the necklace Sydney wore the night she died, covered in blood in a zip-lock bag. Did Michael hide it there or did Violet do it to frame him during their recent encounter? Maybe Michael can explain himself on the December 1 episode which reunites him with his old neighbor, and sometime partner-in-crime, Amanda.